Thiruvabharanam procession
Hundreds of Ayyappa devotees including large number of women, thronged the palace town of Pandalam to witness the annual ceremonial procession carrying the sacred jewellery, Thiruvabharanam, to Sabarimala on Saturday.
The Thiruvabharanam was taken out of the palace strong room early in the morning and the palace authorities hand it over to the Travancore Devaswom Board authorities at 4 am for taking it to Sabarimala for the annual Makaravilaaku festival.
The jewellery were kept at the Valiyakoickal Sastha Temple close-by the Srambickal Palace for the devotees to have its darshan in the forenoon.
The procession carrying the Thiruvabharanam will reach the holy hillock on the Makaravilaaku day on Monday. The presiding deity will be adorned with the Thiruvabharanam prior to the deepardhana, later, around 6.30 pm.— Radhakrishnan Kuttoor
Rameswaram temple 'theertham' rejuvenated
Governor Banwarilal Purohit dedication of rejuvenated 'Mangala theertham' to the nation at Thangachimadam near Rameswaram on Saturday.
Amid vedic rites and chants, Tamil Nadu Govenor Banwarilal Purohit declared open the 'mangala theertham' of Sri Ramanathaswamy temple, Rameswaram, was dedicated to the devotees after rejuvenation, on Saturday.
Last year in September, fgr the first time in the history of Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram, the 22 theertham wells on the premises have gone dry, forcing the temple authorities to desilt them and resort to judicious use of the water.
Mangaluru river festival
Traditional percussion artists playing their instruments to mark the beginning of the two-day Mangaluru River Festival on the bank of Phalguni river at Bangra Kulur in Mangaluru on Saturday, January 12, 2019.
A ride in the ferry amidst beats of traditional percussion instruments marked the beginning of the two-day Mangaluru River Festival on Saturday.
District In-charge Minister U.T.Khader, led group of diginitaries and students of different colleges on the ride from the jetty in Kuloor to another jetty in Bangra Kuloor, which is the main place for the river festival.
The district administration is holding the festival along with other private organisations to bring people to the riverside. The event is also to explore the tourism potential also to protect the river.— Raghava M
3 dead, 23 injured in Ottawa bus crash
Police and a first responders work at the scene where a double-decker city bus struck a transit shelter in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019.
A double-deck city bus smashed into a transit shelter during Friday’s rush hour, and Ottawa authorities said three people were killed and 23 injured.
Police Chief Charles Bordeleau said the bus driver was arrested after the crash, but he declined to provide details on why she was detained. He said police were still investigating the cause of the crash.
“Something led us to having to arrest the individual and take them to the station,” Bordeleau said.
The crash took place west of downtown at 3-50 p.m., just as dusk was beginning to settle on the coldest day of the winter so far in Canada’s capital
Two of the dead were riding the bus and one was on the platform at Westboro station, a major stop on the city’s busway, Mayor Jim Watson said.—AP
Finch wins toss, elects to bat in first ODI
India Captain Virat Kohil (right) and Australian captains Aaron Finch during the toss prior to the start of the 1st One Day International series at Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, January 12, 2019 in Sydney, Australia.
Australia skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat in the first One-day International against India, here Saturday.
The hosts have handed debut to Jason Behrendorff.
India won the preceding four-match Test series 2-1.
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Khaleel Ahmed.
Australia: Aaron Finch(c), Alex Carey(w), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle, Jhye Richardson and Jason Behrendorff.
Australian Open
Britain's Andy Murray prepares to hit the ball during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019.
Reactions are pouring in the tennis and sports world to Andy Murray's announcement on Friday that this year's Australian Open could be the British former world number one's last professional tournament.
Former world number 1 Billie Jean King tweeted: “@andy_murray You are a champion on and off the court. So sorry you cannot retire on your own terms, but remember to look to the future.
“Your greatest impact on the world may be yet to come. Your voice for equality will inspire future generations. Much love to you & your family.”
Andy Roddick
“If this is true, I tip my cap to @andy_murray! Absolute legend. Short list of best tacticians in history. Unreal results in a brutal era... Nothing but respect here. I hope he can finish strong and healthy.
“Just thinking out loud here. He deserves his moment to say goodbye at Wimbledon. He's too important to Great Britain and Wimbledon history to not have it.”
